And as this situation has been allowed to develop VicRoads and the TAC have retained almost $3 Million dollars they collected in the name of a "safety levy" supposedly to protect motorcycle riders as vulnerable users, but they just kept the cash instead.
From an IRG Member -----Original Message----- From: Damien Codognotto [mailto:d.codognotto.oam@bigpond.com] Sent: Saturday, 27 August 2016 6:05 PM To: undisclosed-recipients: Subject: THREE MORE RIDERS DIE ON VICTORIAN ROADS MEDIA RELEASE 2016 has been a deadly year for Victoria's growing motorcycle & scooter community. Population growth and the increasing cost of owning a car means more Victorians will choose two wheels. It is clear that VicRoads/TAC/VicPol policies and campaigns have failed in 2016 and urgently need review. This terrible spike in bike deaths and injuries is not normal. See attached graph. Certainly more visible police are required. Certainly better road maintenance is required, particularly in rural areas. Animal strikes are a much bigger problem than VicRoads admits. Many factors contribute to the increase in road trauma in Victoria. One of the most serious is the lack of quality road safety science. VicRoads/TAC/VicPol are out of touch with rank and file road users. Road crash data identified as a serious problem for a decade by various Parliamentary Inquiries. The problem is systemic. Parliamentary Inquiries are regularly held by Road Safety Committees that include representatives from all political parties. DATA COLLECTION Without reliable data on road furniture, traffic flows, crash sites, maintenance & repairs and more, the real cost of roads and road trauma cannot be accurately calculated so effective countermeasures and infrastructure planning can't be done. 2005. CRASHES INVOLVING ROADSIDE OBJECTS “EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. Crashes involving roadside objects are a major road safety problem in Victoria, accounting for almost one-fifth of all crashes resulting in an injury or a fatality. ... The Committee noted a number of areas where crash information was missing or could be more detailed. The difficulty obtaining adequate data, in particular travel exposure information to better assess crash risk and target safety treatments, is a continuing issue in Victoria, coming up time and time again in Committee inquiries. Governments agree to improve crash information, yet crash and crash risk information continues to be an impediment to the improvement of roadside safety in Victoria. Crash information recording and publications need to be greatly improved. ... The Committee observed that there was no systemic approach or strategic plan to comprehensively address the problem of crashes involving roadside objects.” 2006. DRIVER DISTRACTION INQUIRY “CHAIR’S FOREWORD. ... One of the problems faced by the Committee during the Inquiry was the lack of clear definition and information systems which measure distraction and its’ role in crashes. The Committee calls on Victorian road safety authorities to develop clear definitions, categories and suitable crash data reporting in order to understand the extent of the problems and to develop appropriate countermeasures. ...” “EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. ... In view of the lack of suitable definitions,categorisations and suitable data, Victoria and most other Australian jurisdictions are not well placed to accurately assess the role of driver distraction on crashes. Recent studies in the United States, together with an ongoing study by the New Zealand Ministry of Transport, provide some insights into driver distraction impacts. Development of comprehensive crash data is a vital first step in guiding future Victorian road safety initiatives relating to driver distractions. 2012. INQUIRY INTO MOTORCYCLE SAFETY “EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. ... The first, and arguably most important theme was the lack of accurate and robust data, both for crashes and trauma. Many arguments, proposals and observations made in submissions and witness statements were based or justified on crash and trauma data. However, the significant data issues identified by the Committee meant much of the evidence presented to the Committee was difficult to verify. ... Addressing data issues is the single most critical aspect of our future response to motorcycle safety. ... RECOMMENDATION 1. That an independent Office of road safety data be created which will be responsible for collecting, collating, interpreting and publishing all data relevant to road safety ...” On Monday, May 16, 2016, Assistant Commissioner (police) Doug Fryer was quoted in the Melbourne Herald Sun. He was taking about the 28 motorcycle & scooter rider deaths to that date in 2016. “... Every one (death) has been investigated thoroughly and 86% were rider error. ...” The Independent Riders Group does not agree that the 86% figure is reliable. We have written to AC Fryer twice asking how police calculated this extraordinary statistic. Neither the email dated May 18, 2016 nor the letter dated August 5 answers our legitimate questions. Damien Codognotto OAM Spokesperson Independent Riders' Group (IRG) PO Box 4330 Doncaster Heights Vic 3109
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